


If They Knew

by MalcomReynolds



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 19:45:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalcomReynolds/pseuds/MalcomReynolds
Summary: What would happen if Chat Noir's teammates found out who Hawkmoth was?





	If They Knew

He couldn't stop crying. He felt hollow. Numb. After all these years, Chat Noir thought that the end of Hawkmoth's reign of terror would be a happy occasion, it would lead to a reveal, and he and Ladybug would live happily ever after.

He had no idea how wrong he could be. The only part that he'd got right was the reveal. Unfortunately, it wasn't the romantic reveal he'd pictured all these years, where Ladybug dropped her transformation, only to be standing there in a ball gown, and they'd dance off into the sunset. He'd discovered the identity of both Hawkmoth and Mayura, and in doing so, lost any remaining family he had left.

Mayura was his father's personal assistant, Nathalie Sancour, the only person who even occasionally stood up for him at home. The dread he'd felt when the peacock brooch was stripped from her had settled in his stomach like lead. He knew that if Nathalie was Mayura, then the odds were greatly in favor of his father being Hawkmoth. He would have given anything to have been wrong.

He wasn't sure how he made it through. The other four members of the team gasped at seeing Gabriel Agreste unmasked as Hawkmoth, but Chat had kept stoically silent. Queen Bee, he knew, was friends with Adrien outside of the masks, but he wasn't sure why the other three seemed so upset. He'd gone through the obligatory fist bump, but ran off shortly thereafter, leaving Queen Bee, Carapace, Rena Rouge and Ladybug to take the two criminals to face justice. He was sure that Ladybug had taken the miraculous back to Master Fu. He wasn't sure how the rest would go.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was no longer overhead as it was when he had come and collapsed on this roof. He hadn't chosen it for any reason other than it was where his strength had run out. It was perfect for his purposes. A small four foot wall ran around the edge of the roof, hiding him from prying eyes, and allowing him to curl up, protected.

His tears had slowed to an on again off again trickle when he heard the familiar zip of the yo-yo, and the soft footfalls of his partner landing beside him. He didn't look up. Didn't acknowledge her in any way, couldn't really. His limbs were too heavy to move, even if he had wanted to move them. The idea of his partner, the woman he loved finding out who he was, finding out that he was related to that monster chilled him to the bone. He'd never felt more alone.

Chat sat, legs drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped around his shins, his face buried in his knees. "You're not alone, Kitty." Ladybug said to him, placing a comforting hand on his back, rubbing little circles on it. "We are here for you. All of us. We all care for you very much, I think more than any of us realized."

Voice hoarse as more tears dripped down his face Chat spoke his first words aloud in what felt like days. "You wouldn't if you knew. If you knew why."

Ladybug leaned over her partner, and scratched his head between his feline ears."Look at me Kitty." She stopped scratching, and flattened his hair down a little. Her blue gaze met and held his green one. She didn't say anything for a moment, just stared into his eyes, before reaching forward a gloved hand to cup his cheek. Hesitantly, she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, quickly, biting it off as she searched for the right words. Finally, she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. "Are you - are you upset because of who Hawkmoth turned out to be?"

Dropping his gaze from hers, then his head to his knees, Chat Noir finally nodded. Ladybug never broke contact with him, her hand dropped from his cheek when he hid his face, but slid to stroke his upper arm instead. Chat heard Ladybug's deep inhalation of breath, and a calming exhalation, before she said, on a whisper, "Adrien?"

He didn't answer out loud, but the way Chat's body stiffened gave Ladybug all the answer that she needed. She continued stroking his arm before wrapping him in a hug. "Mon Chaton, it will be alright. You will never be alone. I will always be here for you. My parents will take you in. They already love you. Nobody should have to do what you did, to fight their only family. We will be your family. Rena and Carapace will always be there, and you know Queen Bee loves you. You have to tell her. I can't wait to see the look on her face."

A pink flash told Chat that she had dropped her transformation, but he stubbornly refused to look up. He didn't want to see the disappointment on the face of the girl he had loved for so long, only for her to know his identity because his father was the one they had been trying to defeat this whole time.

"Oh, Chat. Please look at me. Please know that whatever it is that you're feeling right now, you don't have to be alone. I will always be here for you. Chat or Adrien. You are my partner and my friend." She reached over to wipe the tears she could see running down his cheeks. "Please look at me, Chat. I trust you. I've always trusted Chat, and I've always trusted Adrien, too. Except for maybe the first two days." She chuckled, and the sound of it had Chat's feline ears twitching. "My trust in you will never change, no matter who Hawkmoth is to you."

Her hands returned to his hair. "Look at me, Chaton. I know you. You know me. Both in and out of the suits. I will always be here for you. You just need to open your eyes."

Slowly, Chat lifted his head, raising his eyes to her unmasked face. "Marinette?"

She pulled him back into a hug. "Yes, Chaton. It's me. I will always be here for you. I think we need to introduce ourselves to the rest of the team. I think you will find that you have more support than you realized. And my offer still stands. Stay with me tonight. My family loves you."

His arms snaked their way around her. Marinette. How did he never realize it. There was nobody who was more Ladybug than Marinette. He pulled her tight to him, so she was practically sitting in his lap. He lost track of how long he sat there, drawing comfort from his partner, his friend. He was eventually startled by a high pitched cough, followed by a sweet, yet apologetic voice. "I'm sorry. We should probably get going. Chat, Marinette speaks the truth, her family will always welcome you."

Straightening up, Marinette smiled at her kwami. "Chat, this is Tikki. She's right. We've been out here too long. I'm sure Plagg is hungry by now."

Both Chat and Tikki laughed at that comment, knowing the little black cat god was always hungry, but they both nodded, and Marinette switched back to Ladybug.

They changed back into their civilian forms together, just a few blocks away from the bakery, and Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand and practically pulled him home with her. Her parents were upstairs in the living quarters watching the news. When they saw Marinette walk in with Adrien, they both jumped up, Tom engulfing the boy in a huge hug, while Sabine cupped his cheek, much in the way that her daughter had done earlier.

Sabine spoke first, "Adrien, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need. Whether that is one night or the rest of your life. You always have a home with us."

Adrien's eyes were glistening with happy tears. "Thank you Monsieur Dupain, Madam Cheng. I appreciate it. Your daughter told me the same thing when she found out what was going on." His voice was choked, but there was no mistaking the gratitude that someone cared, that they accepted him, no matter what.

When the tears started to roll down his cheek, Sabine squeezed his hand. "Please, it's Sabine and Tom. And it would be our pleasure to have you. Dinner is almost ready. Did you want to sleep in the spare room or Marinette's room. We understand if you don't want to be alone tonight."

Tom added, "But that is NOT a long term choice. The spare room is yours for as long as you need it."

Adrien nodded, feeling overwhelmed with the rollercoaster of emotions he'd been on over the past several hours. Marinette took him up to her room, knowing the last thing she was going to do was leave her kitty alone to think. He would need to do that later, but not now, when everything was so raw.

After dinner where Adrien pushed more around his plate than actually ate, Marinette took them back to her room. She asked if he was ready to talk, and when he shook his head she asked if he just wanted to be held. When he nodded shyly, she told him to go get ready for bed. She handed him a set of fleece Ladybug pajamas that she'd made for her partner, and had been planning on surprising him with.

While he was getting ready, Marinette grinned, and changed into her matching pair of Chat pajamas. When Adrien reentered the room, he couldn't help but smile, seeing his partner dressed in his colors, with a pawprint over her stomach. He grinned shyly and twirled for her when she asked him to, assuring her that they fit perfectly.

They sat on her bed and talked for hours, staying in physical contact the whole time, holding hands, her head on his shoulder, or even just touching shoulders. Eventually they fell asleep next to each other curling into each other, a promise for always.

The next morning, Marinette suggested that the 5 superheroes meet to show each other their identities. Adrien was hesitant, but Marinette reminded him that she knew who they were, and assured him they would all be there for him, support and trust him. Reluctantly he agreed, and Marinette left for Master Fu's house to collect the three miraculous. After a quick chat with Master Fu, who approved of her reasons for revealing, Marinette dropped Trixx, Wayzz and Pollen with their chosens and sent them to meet her on the roof where Chat was waiting.

When Ladybug arrived with Queen Bee, the five superheroes looked at each other. Ladybug cleared her throat and started to speak. "I know you're wondering why I called you here." She stepped over to Chat and squeezed his hand. "I know all of you are friends of Adrien Agreste. He is going to need our support over the coming days and months. Will you be there for him, even knowing what you do about his father?"

Queen Bee was the first to speak up. "Of course. I'd do anything for my Adrikins. He knows that." She sniffed. "I'm closer to him than any of you could be."

Carapace chimed in next. "Of course, Dude. He had nothing to do with any of this. I tried calling him last night, and couldn't get ahold of him. I'm sure he turned his phone off, and I can't say that I blame him. Does he have somewhere to stay? He's always welcome with me."

Ladybug nodded. "He stayed at a friend's house last night." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Mine, actually." Everyone stared at her. She met Chat's eyes, and he nodded. That's the other reason why I brought you here. We're a team, and I'm glad for each and every one of you. I feel it is time that we all showed each other who we are underneath the masks."

Once again, Queen Bee broke the silence. "Well, everyone knows that I'm Chloe Bourgeois. Pollen, buzz off." In a yellow flash, Chloe stood on the rooftop, looking around at the other superheroes.

Rena Rouge, who had been quiet until now, was the next to drop her transformation. Chloe and Chat both gasped in surprise, while Carapace grinned and stepped forward, kissing her. "I've wanted to do that for a while now. Wayzz, shell off." When the light faded, Nino stood there, grinning at his teammates.

Turning to Chat, Ladybug whispered, "I told you they'll still be there for you, no matter what."

Tears were forming in Chat's eyes, but he raised an eyebrow at his partner. "You or me first, Milady?"

"My turn first. That way you can protect me if Chloe decides she's going to kill me." Chat chuckled, and Chloe's gasp of outrage turned into one of shock when Ladybug dropped her transformation. Marinette looked at the three people, their mouths hanging wide open. "Surprise?"

"Well, I'm not going to try and kill you, Dupain-Cheng." Queen Bee finally managed to spit out. "I can't believe you've been Ladybug this whole time."

Marinette shot an apologetic look at Chloe, then looked over to Alya, who was uncharacteristically quiet. She had a calculating look on her face as she looked between her best friend and the only one of them that still wore a mask.

Marinette reached over and grasped Chat Noir's hand, eliciting a soft, but excited squeal from Alya. Shooting her friend a quelling look, she turned back to her partner. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, but you know the people on this roof have your back 100%. We are all your friends, and we all love you."

Not looking away from Marinette's eyes, Chat Noir dropped his transformation. After a long moment of silence, three bodies moved in unison to wrap him in their arms, and three voices assured him that they would always be his friends. This time, when the tears ran down Adrien's cheeks, they were happy ones, safe in the knowledge that he would always have this family; the one of his own choosing.


End file.
